Senior Member

Careful about using Dr. Szasz as an authority, even when you agree. I've run into some of his supporters who are well over the edge in terms of behavior, and so far out of touch with any shared reality no one can predict what they will do next. There really are behaviors which are sufficiently threatening to get people locked up for cause. The etiology of this behavior remains unknown.

Your typical CFS/ME patient is far from this edge, and doesn't threaten anyone.

Senior Member

Szasz's claims are very controversial and he is not a good source to be citing for our purposes, and we do ourselves no favours by outright rejection of the general notion of mental illness or behavioural disorder. (I am not saying he does not make some good points, or there is not a serious debate to be had about the nature of mental illness. He does, and there certainly is. But practically there is little for us to be gained by going down this path, and there are much more important issues for us to spend our energy on.)

"and this too shall pass"

Lawrence Perlmuter, PhD, a psychologist at Chicagos Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, has found that both adults and children who show an inadequate increase in blood pressure in response to standing also perform more poorly on neuropsychological tests and may be at higher risk for depression.

If a person fails to adequately adjust to the switch from supine to standing, one can expect to find some adverse effects that may be behavioral, cognitive and affective, says Dr. Perlmuter

I am wondering how much depression in CFS patients could be because of dysautonomia?
I have been feeling much better physically lately so have been going out quite a bit. I have noticed depression worsening in the afternoon and wonder if it could be because I am upright more?? It would seen to me that when a person feels better and is able to do more there would be less risk of depression but it seems to be opposite with me. This study seems to shed some light on it